"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" is the fifth episode of the
third season of the American
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
television series ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
''. Written by
Jean Lisette Aroeste and directed by
Ralph Senensky, it was first broadcast on October 18, 1968.
In the episode, the ''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
'' travels with an alien ambassador whose appearance induces madness.
This episode was the second appearance of
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur (born August 19, 1938) is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on ''L.A. Law'' and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. She app ...
in the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' franchise. She appeared previously as Dr. Ann Mulhall in the
second season episode, "
Return to Tomorrow" and would later appear as
Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the
second season of ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation''.
A Medusan named Zero would later appear as a main character in ''
Star Trek: Prodigy''. The name of the
season 2 Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014
* ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008
* "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu
''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...
episode "Is There in Beauty No Truth?," which focused on Zero, was a homage to this episode.
Plot
The
Federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
starship
A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
''Enterprise'' is assigned to escort Medusan
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
Kollos and psychologist Dr. Miranda Jones to a rendezvous with a Medusan vessel. Medusans are non-humanoid creatures whose outward appearance is described as being so ugly as to cause humanoids who see them to go
insane and then die. Kollos travels in a carrier to hide him from view, and First Officer
Spock
Spock is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterpri ...
assists as necessary using a special visor which allows his
Vulcan psychology to withstand the sight of Kollos. Jones is also able to observe Kollos with the help of the visor, a fact which she claims is due to Vulcan-style mental discipline.
At a dinner with Captain
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...
and the senior officers, Jones, a
telepath
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
, explains that her assignment is to attempt a
mind link with Kollos in the hope of allowing Starfleet to utilize the Medusan's unique senses and navigational abilities. In the course of the discussion, Jones breaks off, sensing someone nearby with murderous intentions. She then returns to her quarters, where she is visited by her associate Lawrence Marvick. Marvick is in love with Jones, a feeling which she does not reciprocate, and she senses that he is the would-be murderer. He then makes his way to Kollos's quarters with a phaser, but is overcome by the sight of the Medusan before he can fire. Now insane, Marvick rushes to Engineering, overpowers and renders unconscious Chief Engineer
Scott and other crew members, and takes control of the engines. The ''Enterprise'' quickly accelerates past
Warp Factor 9.5, which takes it far outside of the galaxy and into a strange swirling void. Marvick, now restrained, screams wild accusations at Jones before he dies.
With no navigational references, the ''Enterprise'' crew cannot return home. Kirk suggests that Kollos's superior navigational abilities could be of use, and Spock volunteers to mind meld with Kollos, allowing the two to pilot the ''Enterprise'' as one entity. Miranda Jones objects that she is a more logical choice, but McCoy reveals that she is blind and therefore couldn't possibly pilot a starship. (Her jeweled wrap, it turns out, is actually an elaborate sensor web designed to compensate for her blindness).
A partition is set up on the bridge to hide Kollos, and Spock, wearing the visor, completes the mind link. Kollos and Spock, acting through Spock's body, successfully return the ''Enterprise'' to known space, and then retire behind the partition to dissolve the link, but forgetting the visor. Kirk shouts a warning, but Spock, unable to look away in time, goes mad and attacks the crew. He is subdued by a phaser blast from Kirk and rushed to Sickbay, where his condition deteriorates. Jones attempts to make mental contact with Spock but is apparently unable to help, and Kirk suggests that she, in her jealousy, does not really wish to. Enraged by the accusation, she makes one more attempt, and succeeds in bringing Spock's mind back to reality.
The ''Enterprise'' arrives at its destination, and Kollos and Jones prepare to depart. Jones thanks Kirk for his insight, crediting it with ensuring her future. Kollos and Jones are now "one", and she now knows the joy of the mind link for herself. Kirk gives Jones a rose as they leave, reminding her that every rose has thorns.
Production and reception
This was the final episode filmed in the series' production that featured
Eddie Paskey as Lt. Leslie. As the episodes were however shown out of production order, the final episode to feature the character was "
Elaan of Troyius".
The title is taken from a line in the poem "Jordan" by
George Herbert
George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devotio ...
. The Vulcan philosophy "
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" first appeared in the episode. Show creator
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...
inserted a speech by Kirk praising the philosophy and associated medal. The "pointless" speech was, according to
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
, a "thinly-veiled commercial" for replicas of the medal, which Roddenberry's company
Lincoln Enterprises
Lincoln Enterprises, formerly Star Trek Enterprises, was a mail-order company set up by Bjo Trimble and Gene Roddenberry to sell merchandise related to the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek''. I ...
soon sold to fans.
Releases
This was released on
LaserDisc
LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
in 1987 in the United States, paired with "And the Children Shall Lead" on one double sided 12" disc.
This episode was released in Japan on December 21, 1993 as part of the complete season 3 LaserDisc set, ''Star Trek: Original Series log.3''.
A trailer for this and the other episodes was also included, and the episode had English and Japanese audio tracks.
The cover script was スター・トレック TVサードシーズン
This episode was included in TOS Season 3 remastered
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
box set, with the remastered version of this episode.
References
External links
*
*
*
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?"Story outline dated May 24, 1968; report and analysis by Dave Eversole
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?"Remastered version reviewed at
TrekMovie.comStar Trek transcript - Is There in Truth No Beauty?
{{Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, 3
Star Trek: The Original Series season 3 episodes
1968 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by Ralph Senensky